Patient treatment systems such as those on which patients lie on their back are generally unwildly and require extensive auxiliary equipment to maintain the patient in proper position during treatment.
In a non-analogus art, dental chairs in general use today are relatively large in size so that they are quite heavy and immobile. Because of space and cost limitations, only the specific number of pieces of dental equipment requisite to the practice of dentistry can be put onto the office. Therefore, the same large-size chair is used for adults of all sizes as well as for children. The above dental chairs, due to the imposing size, often intimidate younger patients. This of course provides particular problems for the dentist who has to work on their teeth.
The focal point for positioning patients in a standard dental chair is the patient's seat. But since these chairs accomodate both the largest adult and the smallest child, respectively, the position of their head, with respect to the chair, will vary drastically. When patients of varying sizes sit in conventional chairs, the location of their respective oral areas, with respect to the top and sides of the chair, will vary greatly making difficult even the most routine dental procedures. Thus, when smaller patients are seated in standard chairs, the relative difference in size between the patients and the chair in either an up-and-down or side-to-side direction is significant.
Prior art devices which are provided include, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,347,544 to Uffenorde, 3,747,916 to Benson, 2,684,064 to Thompson, and 2,702,733 to Larang, are employed for orthopedic surgery and accordingly are built for the patient to lie thereon with the front portion of their body resting on the surgical table.